Hiruko appearing at this time saved Shamu the trouble of going to find him.
Shamu's approach to Orochimaru's experiments was to avoid using Otsutsuki genes to create a vessel.
Instead, he would directly fuse all those single-attribute clone bodies together.
Although the starting point would be lower, there would be no need to worry about rejection.
In terms of timing, Orochimaru would later use a similar method to create Mitsuki.
But now, they could obtain something similar to give Orochimaru some inspiration.
Or perhaps modify the technique directly.
That technique was Hiruko's Chimera Technique.
Hiruko's Chimera Technique had a very crude version. For example, several of his subordinates could merge with Summoning Beasts.
There was also a more advanced version, which involved extracting Kekkei Genkai and integrating them into one's own body.
But there were actually risks involved.
When Chimera extracted a Kekkei Genkai, it also extracted fragments of that person's soul.
In the end, cramming several people's soul fragments into one body could easily leave one mentally confused.
But Orochimaru would not need to worry about that problem.
Those clone bodies had all been cultivated using his cells.
They contained no souls and were purely attribute-based clones.
And the body Orochimaru currently used was not his own, but someone else's body after reincarnation.
It did not matter even if he discarded it. Orochimaru was a researcher; all he considered was how to improve the success rate, without any ethical burden.
He would capture Hiruko later, obtain the Chimera Technique, and let Orochimaru use it as a reference.
With Tsunade joining the experiments, research into Hashirama Cells accelerated immediately.
After all, this concerned the Shinobi World's future development, as well as the resurrection of her younger brother.
Tsunade had no choice but to become a "filial granddaughter" herself.
The step